


Twisted

by BrightTerror



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Tag: 1x8, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gil is an amazing father, I dont't make the rules, If it has Malcolm it automatically comes with whump, Martin thinks he is a good dad, Whump, but he needs a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21530044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightTerror/pseuds/BrightTerror
Summary: Martin finds out about what Paul did to Malcolm in the tunnel, he decides to take matters into his own hands.+Bonus: Gil being a worried and comforting father to Malcolm being a danger magnet.
Relationships: Gil Arroyo & Jessica Whitly, Gil Arroyo & Malcolm Bright, Malcolm Bright & Jessica Whitly, Malcolm Bright & Martin Whitly
Comments: 10
Kudos: 166





	Twisted

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this because 1x8 had a lot of hurt and no comfort, so that needed to be changed. Plus the two week hiatus left me needing my weekly malcolm dose so i wrote this instead.  
> Enjoy!  
> This is not beta read, sorry for any mistakes.

Martin didn’t exactly like solitary confinement, per se, he really enjoyed talking to anyone who would listen, but this gave him an opportunity he hadn’t had in twenty years: not being on constant vigilance. 

He could use this time to formulate his plan to escape. Technically, he knows he could have escaped years ago if he wanted, but if he had escaped, he would be a runaway, therefore he would not be able to see his kids. Especially Malcolm who visited him so often back then. 

So, he stayed in his cage as a commodity. However, he knew he could always escape, he had control. The problem was that after Tevin’s whole lockdown situation they reinforced security which meant he had lost control of the situation. He did not like that. Solitary confinement would give him the perfect peaceful, uninterrupted time to create a new plan. 

He sat there in the middle of the empty room and smiled enough to make him slightly giggle.

________

It was Martin’s third day on solitary confinement. He was proud to say he had already schemed a plan for his escape, if he so wished. He had control back. He would weigh his options as soon as they told him exactly how long he had to be there alone; if it was too long he would probably escape to see his kids, if it wasn’t, he could just wait until he was able to take visitors again. 

Around midday he was meditating when he heard the door open. He frowned, not knowing the cause of it; his solitary confinement was  _ most definitely  _ not over yet. 

“You have a visitor.” A guard he didn’t know mumbled. 

“I can’t have visitors.” Martin rolled his eyes and said it as if it was obvious, talking to the guard as if he was stupid. 

“The police need to talk to you for their current case. Apparently, they can override the confinement for their case.

Martin smiled; he did not turn around to face the door yet. He thought his son had pulled some strings to talk to him.  _ And Malcolm said he didn’t want his dad _ . He thought proudly. “You really can’t stay away, can't you? Came to ask for help on a case.” He said as he turned around expecting to see his son; his face fell in disappointment for a split second before he composed himself to his facade. A few feet away from him was Gil Arroyo. Martin  _ really _ hated that guy. “Oh, look who it is… Lieutenant Arroyo. What brings you here _?”  _ Martin said in a cold, deadly voice with a cheery tone.  _ Did you get bored pretending to be a father to my son. _ He added mentally. 

Gil huffed and instructed the other police accompanying him, to leave. He walked a few feet towards Martin, ignored the previous comments, and spoke. “We are investigating a serial killer we believe you have ties to. Since you are linked to this, we have gotten a warrant to contra rest your well-earned punishment. Are you going to cooperate willingly or unwillingly? If it’s the former, we can arrange a deal to end your solitary confinement as soon as we catch this current killer.” 

Martin thought about it. How could Gil actually think he would ever cooperate with the goddamn police? He only helped Malcolm. It was really stupid of them to send the  _ one _ officer he despised personally. “Humour me, what is going on with this serial killer? Another copycat?” He grinned. 

“We are calling him the Junkyard Killer; you might know him by one of his aliases: Paul Lazar.” 

“It might be possible I have a few ideas on who he is. As I told Malcolm the other day at the interview, he goes by many names.” Martin said as-a-matter-of-factly. “Although, where is  _ my  _ boy? He is usually the one handling the visits here.”

Gil ignored Martin’s question. He was not going to talk about Bright. He knew Martin was a manipulator and he had to keep it together; thinking about Malcolm did just the opposite; how hurt he was, seeing his full body in bruises and cracked ribs, he couldn’t stand to see his kid so hurt. “Paul Lazar.” He repeated. “Do you know him? Yes or no?” He said harshly.

Martin did not like being ignored. He had asked a question. He looked at Gil dead in the eye and laughed maniacally. “Why would I tell  _ you _ . I have no obligation to help you at  _ all _ , and even though I’m obstructing justice by refusing to help and all that mumbo jumbo shit, it doesn’t matter because I’m already locked up, adding more legal stuff to my record will not change a thing.” 

Gil was about to lose his non-existent patience with Martin. He breathed deeply. “Listen,” he paused. “People are getting hurt.” 

“You know I killed people, right?” Martin said slowly. “I don’t really care about them; I don’t even know them.” He smiled. 

“You were a Doctor, you told Ainsley how you saved that boy’s life.” Gil started. He decided to use Martin’s own words against him.

“That interview hasn’t aired.” Martin frowned. He had said that to gain Ainsley’s trust. He did not like his words being twisted. 

“Bright told me.” Gil shrugged. He knew he should not have mentioned Malcolm as soon as he said it, but it was too late. 

“Of course, he did.” Martin huffed. “Where is he by the way?” 

Gil lost it. He couldn’t deal with the man one more second. This was going nowhere. “This is pointless,” he mumbled. “Okay, this visit is over. Enjoy your time up in confinement.” He started to walk away. 

“Wait.” Martin said. “I could make a deal; information for less time here. But bring Malcolm as a negotiator and I’ll tell him and only him.” 

Gil stopped. He hated Martin and was getting on his nerves. Martin only wanted Bright to come so he could hurt him more. He saw how every time Bright visited his father he would be jumpier and had more nightmares. He was sure he wasn’t letting his kid visit Martin, especially with the cracked ribs. “I am  _ not  _ bringing Bright; he has been through enough. This is pointless,” he sighed and mumbled. “I should not have listened to Jessica.”

“Jessica sent you?” Martin was puzzled. Why would she do that? “Did she drank enough and finally lost it?”

Gil was pissed. Jessica didn’t deserve this, neither did Bright. “She hasn’t lost it, she did what she had to for a chance of protecting her kids.” 

“She only visited once and made it clear how I am better off dead” Martin laughed incredulously.” “What could have possibly happened for her to come to me?”

“Your serial killer friend happened!” Gil snapped. “He found Bright and popped his bones like damn bubble wrap! He tried to kill Ainsley at the hospital and made Bright almost lose it about the goddamn camping trip.” Gil cursed under his breath as soon as he finished, he didn’t want to tell him what happened to Malcolm, he knew his kid didn’t like people knowing of his injuries. It had slipped and he couldn’t take it back.

Martin’s thoughts stopped. He saw red, for once his continuous anger he had of Gil vanished and was all targeted to Paul. Apparently,  _ Paul  _ had hurt his kids. Oh, he was going to pay. “Is Malcolm okay?” He said trying not to sound as worried as he was. 

Gil sighed. “It’s none of your business, but he will be.” 

“Good.” Martin stated. “I will tell you all about this killer.” He decided after a few seconds. “Come back in two days and I will even give you his family’s names, shoe size, whatever you need to know.” 

Gil frowned. This was too easy; he didn’t trust him. “How do I know you aren’t bluffing. You could easily use the two days to find a way to contact him to warn him.”

“He broke the code. Anyone in our… circle... knows to stay away from the other’s family.  _ Especially _ mine. He will get what he deserved for hurting my boy.” 

The cop nodded. “I’ll be back in two days. If there is no information, then the deal is off.” he then left before he could accidentally spill any more information about the case or Malcolm. 

____________________________________________________________________________

_ Malcolm just left Jessica’s house. He had told her to keep the gun since he and the NYPD got kicked out of the case. He left in a hurry to see if he could fix the situation somehow, even though it was implausible. So now Jessica was left alone in the house with her loaded gun.  _

__ _ Two hours later there was a knock at the door. Jessica tensed up and held her gun between her hands and pointing it at the door. “Who is it?” She said, trying her best to sound calm.  _

__ _ “Jess, it’s Gil.” Gil said at the other side of the door.  _

__ _ Jessica took a deep breath to calm herself once she knew she was in no immediate danger, hid the gun, and went to open the door. “Gil, this is a surprise, come on in.” _

__ _ Gil did as told and walked inside to the living room where they both sat.  _

__ _ “To what do I owe the visit?”  _

__ _ “I’m checking up on you, after all that happened today to you and Bright, I figured you would be shaken up.” Gil said truthfully. They didn’t always see eye to eye, but he knew what Jessica had gone through and cared for her. After basically co-parenting Malcolm for all these years he tends to see both Jessica and Ainsley as family too.  _

__ _ “Thanks Gil. But I’m fine, nothing to worry about.” She faked a smile to hide her nervousness. “Malcolm told me about there being surveillance outside and as I told him earlier, I was married to one of the most notorious serial killers, I can take care of myself.”  _

__ _ “I’m glad to hear. The police surveillance will still be around for at least three more days, I managed to pull some strings to keep them outside your house after the FBI decided to take over the case.” Gil paused. “But I also wanted to make sure how you were doing with Bright’s incident and reassure you he is okay, considering.”  _

__ _ Jessica frowned. “What incident? What did he do?” She said exasperated.  _

__ _ “Bright didn’t tell you.” Gil said annoyed. “Of course, he didn’t. I’m not surprised.” He shook his head. “He is always diving face first into danger and saying that he is fine.”  _

__ _ “Oh god, what did he do?” She repeated, this time sounding worried.  _

__ _ “He went after this killer by himself, with no backup, into a goddamn tunnel. The killer was there and broke some of his ribs and left him all bruised up.” Gil pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a breath. “I had to find out by a phone call. He called me, and the kid decided to make some light conversation before telling me he needed help because he couldn’t even walk. We patched him up at the precinct and he was acting much better. He gave me quite a scare today and I figured you knew too.”  _

__ _ “Thanks for telling me, Gil… I think I need some gin, or maybe a scotch. Do you want anything?” She stood up and turned around to get herself a drink. Jessica was heartbroken but she didn’t let it show. Her poor son, always in danger either because of himself or his work, she hated seeing him suffer. And  _ _ now _ _ there was a new serial killer personally targeting her family?!  _

__ _ “I’m good, thanks Jessica.”  _

__ _ After getting her drink she sat down again. “Did you or your police pals find out anything about him?” _

__ _ “What I say here is technically Off the record, okay?” Gil looked at Jessica and she nodded in understanding. “The killer was mentored by Martin; they had a bond and we think Martin is the one who taught him how to kill.” He explained the whole story. _

__ _ Jessica drank her whole glass of Gin. Her eyes then widened with an idea. “That’s it. You should talk to him; Martin could tell you where he is. Then maybe Malcolm could be safe.” _

__ _ Gil frowned at Jessica, she would  _ _ never _ _ suggest something like that, she would rather die. “Jessica you of all people should know it’s not a good idea to visit him. Weren’t you the one who never visited him for twenty years and made Malcolm stop going?”  _

__ _ “Yes, I  _ _ despise _ _ him, and I  _ _ know _ _ we are  _ _ all _ _ better away from him.” She said. “But if he tells us about this junk _ _ yard _ _ killer, Malcolm could be safe. Because we both know that with that  _ _ wretched _ _ killer loose, Malcolm will keep trying to take him down and get answers.” _

__ _ “I get it, I worry about him too, but…” Gil put a hand on Jessica’s shoulder. “Jessica,” he said softly. “As much as that idea could work, he is in solitary confinement. It’s not like anyone could visit him and ask him.” _

__ _ “You are the  _ _ police _ _ , do something. If you say he is linked to the new serial killer I am  _ _ sure _ _ you can get a warrant or what _ _ ever _ _ is needed.” _

__ _ “I don’t know…” _

__ _ “Please, Gil. I never ask for much, but please help me keep this kid of ours  _ _ safe _ _.” _

__ _ “I’ll see what I can do.” _

___________________________________________________________________________

Martin had escaped. 

Two bought guards, three knocked off personnel and three cashed favours later, Martin Whitly was out of Claremont Psychiatric Hospital and making his way to find his dear old  _ colleague  _ Paul Lazar. 

Now that he was out, Paul’s days were numbered. 

How dare Paul mess with his own family! His  _ son.  _ He wanted to tell Malcolm about the camping trip himself, all in due time, because they were the same and it was all a matter of time. Or so he thought. But then his old colleague had told his boy things about it and then he had the  _ audacity  _ to hurt him? 

As soon as he broke out, he managed to get information on what had happened to his kids and he was more than enraged to find out Paul had snapped Malcolm against the turnstile gate and left him there to die. 

Malcolm and he, they were the same, so by hurting his kid they were hurting him. He couldn’t let that happen, he had to take control over the situation. 

He had planned everything perfectly; nothing could go wrong. He escaped the same day Gil visited and was going to kill Paul and return just in time for the police to arrive for his statement and they would be none the wiser. 

He hadn’t pictured his freedom like this though. He always thought he would escape so he could be with his kids, that it would feel heavenly, but all he could feel was rage and his urge to kill. 

He usually killed for science, so he could discover new limits of the human body or just because he was curious about what would happen. Yet this time he wanted to kill for the sake of eliminating him off the planet. So, it wasn’t like he was going to be back to his hobby; he had work to do. 

That night he hid at one of his old workshops. He wasn’t an idiot, he used to have many working locations. He would only use his work study at home for his hobby when it was necessary. 

He got in contact with a few serial killers, since he knew there were about 25 active serial killers and a few retired that hadn’t been caught. Most of them owed him something so he called in a few favours and was able to find out where Paul was, what was his weaknesses and his 15 latest victims. He can find anything if he pulls the right strings.

He sat down and started to plan his next kill. He might as well think of something he wants to find out, medicine has advanced in the twenty years he has been locked up so he figured some new ideas were in need to happen; like how much head trauma can a human sustain before it’s irreparable, or how many energy supplements does it take for the heart to over work itself and get a heart attack. Hell, even seeing which part of the body had the most blood loss and see how long it took for it to be drained. He knew he could answer those questions hypothetically, but he would rather test it.

Martin always had these ideas and were part of why he killed, he wanted answers to his questions, and wanted to find them out for himself. 

If he was going to kill Paul, he might as well shoot two birds with one stone and figure some new medical limits. They always said to try and make work sound fun, don’t they? 

_______

Paul was currently working on his next assignment. He had been delayed at his work because of that annoying profiler, Malcolm Whitly. That disgrace of a son! He had the most talented father with so much to offer and he decided to turn him into the police. Paul wanted to kill him but after meeting with him in the tunnel, he realised he could have some fun making Malcolm lose his mind before he ended him. 

He had to find a new working spot since the police had found his old place. He was enraged, still not knowing how that naive little profiler found him. He was too good for the police to find; he didn’t make mistakes. 

He was looking at who he had to kill next in his list, since he was behind schedule, he had to move some jobs forward. He heard something a few feet away and turned his whole body around to see what made that sound. 

Paul smiled as he saw who it was. “Dr Whitly, what a surprise to see you here? How did you get out? If you needed to escape you could have asked for my help.”

Martin smiled but his eyes were cold. “What have you been doing? Twenty years is a long time, I haven’t heard about you in the news until a few days ago, congratulations are in order, for not being on the police radar until now.” He taunted the conversation.

Paul smiled. “Well, I do my job and make sure I do it correctly.”

Martin raised his eyebrows. “Is that so? Because I’ve heard different.” He knew Paul needed to feel he was the best, above everyone, he thought he had a higher calling for his job. “If you did it correctly, the police wouldn’t have found you. I heard my son was the one who figured it out, isn’t he brilliant, he is just like me.” 

Paul sneered. “I do my job correctly! And your son is nothing like you, he is weak and pathetic, looking for answers. He can’t be like you when he fears his calling.” 

Martin wanted to kill him right there and then.  _ Not yet  _ he thought. “You know, I thought I taught you well. But you’ve disappointed me, you can’t remember what I’ve taught you nor how to do your job properly.” He stopped being cheery and his expression was murderously cold. “First rule I taught you: don’t mess with other killers’ families. Especially mine.” 

Paul only now noticed two things. First, Martin had never used that tone of voice with him, and it was scaring him. Second, Martin was wearing Doctor’s gloves. “What are the gloves for?”

Martin smiled again, this time his eyes were sparkling with a twisted joy. “So, my fingerprints can be concealed of course, you see, I’m not supposed to be here. Didn’t  _ actually  _ escaped for good.” 

Before Paul could react, he felt an injection to his neck and fell limp to the ground. He could see what was happening but couldn’t move. 

Martin kneeled carefully. “Listen, Paul. I’m not one to murder people I know, that’s not my style, but you did cross a line. You scared my little girl. You messed with  _ my  _ boy. You hurt him and left him there alone. You  _ told _ him about the Girl in the Box! So many years I spent making him think it was a dream and you decide to completely fuck that up?” Martin’s voice was full of iciness and his eyes screamed murder. “You told him about the camping trip, you were there as the cleaning service, nothing more. You had no authority to tell him.” He said enraged. “I NEEDED TO TELL HIM! I AM HIS FATHER!” 

Paul tried to move but he couldn’t. His eyes were full of panic. This did not suit him for his job. He couldn’t be afraid, he had to finish his job. He couldn’t die  _ now _ . He had to do what was right and finish his work.

“You messed up so many things. You  _ hurt  _ Malcolm and you know what that means don’t you? You hurt me because my boy and I we are the same.” Martin took some needles with some medicine combinations he wanted to know what would happen if they mixed with the fear and the paralyser. This should be interesting. “Actions like that can’t go unpunished.” 

Paul’s eyes widened and his breath quickened as he felt another needle hit his body. 

Gil was about to head to Claremont’s psychiatric Hospital when he got a call from there. They told him there had been a problem a few days ago and a few guards had been knocked out. They didn’t think to tell him before because they did notify the police, but he wasn’t available when it happened. Apparently, no one escaped according to the security cameras that were filming, everything seemed in place. Cameras were everywhere except in the solitary confinement room, but the guards had assured the hospital that Martin had been there all the time. 

Gil did not believe a word of it. He called Dani and JT and headed there at once. The cop did not understand why they hadn’t notified him earlier if they knew he was coming. The hospital had a lockdown not more than a week ago and then the guards were knocked out? This stank of Martin’s doing. 

When they arrived, they were taken directly to Martin’s solitary confinement room. 

The man in question was sitting calmly and turned his head at the sound of the door being unlocked. He smiled and welcomed the police officers. “Lieutenant, officers. I’m ready for my statement, I have so much to tell about Paul Lazar.”

Gil needed to ask something else first. “Did you have anything to do with the guards being knocked off. Perhaps to send a message to your killer friend?”

“I definitely did not. That disgusting man will get no help from me, quite the opposite.” Martin laughed at his inner thoughts. “Shall we?”

Gil took out a recorder. “Everything you say will be on record. If you are lying you will be charged with obstruction of justice and there will be an extension to your punishment. If what you say is proven to be correct, your solitary confinement will be reduced.” 

Martin told them everything, excluding the details where he was involved in any way, of course. He told them where to find him, who he was, his latest victims and were they were hiding. 

After quite a bit of talking, Martin was done with his statement, yet Gil wasn’t convinced. “You expect us to believe you. You have all this information but  _ how _ did you get it? You have been locked up twenty years. There is no way you can be this caught up with the serial killer’s life”

“I have my ways.” Martin replied. “But please, go ahead and check. Send your police pals to confirm everything, it will be there, and if I’m lying, I will make them extend my solitary time myself.” He stated coldly with a smile. 

Gil sent Dani and JT with backup to the place Martin had told them. He stayed there in case anything went sideways he could pin it all onto Martin. 

He turned off the recorder and sat down near the door in silence. Neither said a word, both glaring occasionally at each other. Gil glanced at his phone every now and then waiting for a phone call with details.

Thirty minutes passed and Gil’s phone rang. It was Dani. She told him they had found Paul Lazar murdered yet with a video tape of him declaring all his crimes, giving information to all his victims and how he did it. They found enough evidence to successfully close the case. Which was fantastic because the FBI had given Gil three more days to solve it or it would be passed onto them, —he managed to solve it on the second day. Gil did not tell this arrangement to Malcolm because the kid needed rest. So, he was glad he could have a case closed and send the FBI back to where they came from, he was petty and protective of Malcolm, therefore he didn’t like the feds that much. 

When he hung up on Dani, he turned to Martin who was sitting there, smiling smugly. “I was correct, wasn’t I?” Martin said. 

“Yes, you were.” Gil sighed then pointed at him. “Listen, I don't know how you did it. But I know it was you who killed him.” 

Martin frowned. “How could I? As you said, I have been here for twenty years.”

Gil shook his head. “You somehow escaped or made someone do it for you, the same way you got the information on this guy, I don’t know.” He stated, rambling his theories. “However, you saved Malcolm in the process, he will be much safer now thanks to it. I’m not going to push for the Paul murderer case to be looked upon because you helped Malcolm. I hope I don’t have to see you again” 

Gil turned around to leave and Martin stopped him. “Wait!” He stood up but couldn’t get far because of his chains. “Tell Malcolm that I helped. He might come back if he knows what I did.”

Gil looked shockingly displeased. “I can’t force him to not come but I’m not going to push him to it. Good day.” He turned around and left before anyone could say anything else. 

Martin cursed. “Malcolm will be back.” He said to himself reassuringly. 

_____

Gil stood in front of Malcolm’s apartment. He was debating if he should knock or use his key because if Malcolm was resting like he was supposed to, he didn’t want to wake him up. Thinking about it, Gil figured out Malcolm never does as told so he knocked on the door. 

The door buzzed and Malcolm answered. “Who is it?” 

“Bright, it’s me.” 

There was an unlocking sound of the door and Gil walked in, heading towards Malcolm’s apartment. He went inside and saw Malcolm had his shirt buttoned down, his torso half bandaged and with a pack of frozen veggies on his bruises. He winced at seeing his kid like that. 

Malcolm ignored the obvious internal thoughts of Gil and smiled. “Hey, Gil, any news on the case? Has the FBI said anything? Will they ever share information with us at least?” 

Gil smiled at Malcolm’s curiosity. He was badly beaten yet he was as bright and cheerful as he usually was. “To answer the questions, yes there are news of the case, no, the FBI hasn’t said anything and never will.”

Malcolm frowned. “That does not make any sense, you know, that right?” 

Gil laughed. “Figured it would. I haven’t explained myself though.” He pointed it out and sighed, bracing himself for what was coming, he scratched his beard as he was about to speak. 

“Oh, no.” Malcolm interrupted him. “What happened?” He said alarmed. 

“What do you mean? I haven’t said anything.”

“You don’t have to, your tone of voice, your body posture being tense, and you scratched your beard as you do when nervous or annoyed. You aren’t annoyed because your posture isn’t slumped like you usually are after dealing with annoying situations, so it must be nervousness. There is a serial killer on the loose so if you are like  _ that _ it has to be connected to Paul” Malcolm profiled him. 

Gil couldn’t help but chuckle. His kid profiled people automatically at this point, he should not be surprised. He shook his head and looked down. “I lied to you,” he sat down on a chair next to where Malcolm was. “The FBI didn’t take the case off our hands immediately, as I had previously told you. I made them give us three extra days for the case before they took over. Tomorrow the time would be up.” 

Malcolm frowned and his eyes widened. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have worked more if I knew I would have-” he started to pace. 

“Bright, I didn’t tell you because you needed to rest. And do not panic, I came here to tell you that we caught the killer to brighten your day not to add to your mountain of stress.”

“Wait what?” He completely stopped in his tracks and looked at Gil. “You caught him? Who was it? How?” Malcolm didn’t know what to feel. 

“Martin Whitly told us. He gave us all the information to catch him; we found Paul dead in his new workplace with enough evidence to make a solid case. It was definitely him, forensics confirmed it earlier.” Gil paused quickly before Bright could interrupt him. “I’m sorry for not telling you before but it was the only way to keep you safe.” 

“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.” Malcolm said quickly. “I can take care of myself, haven’t died yet, so it seems to be working for me.” He laughed dryly. 

“Of course, I have to keep you safe! You know how I felt when I saw you lying in that tunnel? I thought you were dead for a second, you didn’t even move when we got there since you were unconscious! I thought I had lost the only family I had left. I already lost Jackie I definitely do not want to lose my kid too. So yes, I worry, and I will keep you safe, even if that means having to deal with the Surgeon.” 

Malcolm was left speechless. Even as a profiler he did not see this coming. He knew Gil cared about him but to hear him say that… he felt bad for putting himself in danger. Not for himself but for Gil, he didn’t deserve being worried all the time because of what Malcolm did. He mentally swore he was going to be more careful in the future cases. He could only nod, he didn’t know what to say to that. He changed the subject slightly when he saw Gil was overthinking and hadn’t want to overshare. “Why did my father even agreed to help you? He hates you deeply.”

“He found out about what he did to you and Ainsley. Even though he is a manipulative sociopath it seemed he wanted to protect you, as much as I hate him, we need to give him credit.”

“Yeah well he does care, in his own way, he is a narcissist, if he thinks his kids are like him, he will want to protect them so he can protect himself, we are an extension of him in his eyes.” He said automatically, as if he was repeating words said to him long ago, stored in his mind. His therapist had told him that when he was younger. “He cares for his own version of what he thinks I am, but doesn’t care for who I am.”

None of them spoke for a few minutes. Gil saw Malcolm’s eyes move back and forth fast, as he usually did when he was deep in his thoughts. So, he just waited patiently for Malcolm to come back to reality. 

“Is it really over then?” Malcolm said in the softest boy, it reminded Gil of when his kid was little. 

“Yes, Bright, it’s really over. It will be okay; he won’t hurt you or your sister again.” Gil saw Malcolm was about to break down when he said that and was trying his best not to, so Gil engulfed him in a hug. 

Malcolm lost all the tension in his shoulders and slumped forwards. Hair falling into his face as he hugged Gil, it felt nice, familiar,  _ Safe _ . He rarely felt safe anymore but right then and there he felt like a weight was taken off his shoulders. He finally let the tears fall from his eyes, letting go all he had bottled up, Gil softly patted Malcolm’s back to comfort him as he continued to hug him.

They stayed like that for a while, Malcolm not quite ready to leave his safe place. His thoughts continued; he still had to find about the girl in the box, the camping trip and still had to worry about his flashbacks but now he doesn't have a killer behind his back at every move. Instead, he had his father figure hugging him, a closed case, the FBI gone, and Sunshine was chirping happily. In that moment everything seemed alright with the world, he closed his eyes and he smiled. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> What did you guys think? Please comment your thoughts! Should I write another oneshot or nah?  
> If you want to scream about this show you can find me on Tumblr as @Sherlock-freud


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